For the press, he's the wild man of rock'n'roll, interested only in sex, drugs and drink. But talk to Rolling Stone Ronnie Wood and you discover that what really turns him on is Velázquez, Dürer and Goya.

"People don't know that I'm an artist," he said, as he prepared for his first retrospective. "Playing music as part of a team effort is wonderful, but to express individuality as an artist is very personal. Art is more powerful, a more personal statement."

Wood, 64, never leaves home without his sketchbook in his carrier-bag, and listens to Mozart at his easel. He is too serious an artist to indulge in the contemporary world of "anything's art", regretting that "draughtsmanship is not valued today".

Co-curating a major retrospective, opening in London next month, he has selected 100 works that reflect his skills as a draughtsman and painter. They come from a collection of "many hundreds" of Wood's works amassed by Bernie Chase, 54, an American multi-millionaire.

As a boy, Chase idolised the Stones, but could not afford their albums. Now, having made his fortune selling luxury cars, he has one of the world's biggest collections of popular culture, including Wood's works which sell for up to £1m. Chase said: "Ronnie played with everybody and kept friends with everybody – George Harrison, Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Pete Townshend… The iconic rock'n'roller. His art explains the history of English rock'n'roll."

Images on canvas, paper and even on his guitars display an innate skill, bringing to life stars as just friends hanging out together. Sketches of Rod Stewart kicking a ball and Keith Richards as the devil reflect his humour, while gentle landscapes and a close-up study of one of Richards' hands show a particular delicacy in style and subject. Working unusually quickly with few lines, he conveys character and recognisable faces.

Sir Peter Blake, the Royal Academician, said that Wood deserves to be taken seriously as an artist: "I think people haven't given him credit because he's a rock star, whereas he draws well and he's a good painter."

Edward Lucie-Smith, a leading art historian, said: "Ronnie is in the top flight as a musician, but he's also a fully trained artist – and it shows." He was so impressed by the work that he wrote the exhibition's catalogue essay, saying, for example, that a "striking study" of Eric Clapton is worthy of the National Portrait Gallery.

Wood has art studios in London and regularly visits Madrid to study its Goya and Velázquez masterpieces and Paris, for the Musée d'Orsay. Rembrandt self-portraits are also a particular inspiration: Wood has studied his own face in mirrors for self-portraits, including his cheeky sketch, "Wakin' up in the Wick", dishevelled in bed at home at the Wick in Richmond.

Wood's artistic promise emerged as a child. His school pulled him out from science lessons so that he could paint murals, and at 14 his music teacher paid him £4 for a snow scene . Wood noted: "My dad used to slave away all week for that. I gave half to my mum."

Teacher and pupil keep in touch. "She's about 90-odd and rockin'," he said. He jokes about trying to get his painting back: "She said: 'You cannot have it back. I'll loan it to you for a couple of weeks.' And she did. She came round for it and said, 'Your time is up'. I really find that a huge compliment."

From modest beginnings – the first generation of his water-gypsy family to be born on dry land – he does not forget the kindness of others. He talks of the support from his parents as well as two brothers who, like him, trained at Ealing Art College.

He appreciates encouragement from his artist friend Damien Hirst, who got him painting again after rehab a few years ago by buying him all the equipment: "He could have furnished a whole art school with the brushes, easels, paint, everything. He told me, 'Now you've got no excuse'."

Chase revealed that Wood also helps others, giving away sketches and money to those in need. But he has lost artworks and sentimental possessions to theft. Wood said: "People pretty close to home owned up." A family member also "went through a bad period" and confessed years afterwards to selling Wood's diaries, which later reappeared. He said: "They're fantastic diaries from the 1960s. Things like: 'Great night last night. Sick three times.'"

Wood initially dreamed of being a set designer but, without contacts, film studio doors were closed. He admits to being "star struck" as a boy, predicting: "I'm going to be like them." He was right. But whether the public can see a star artist beyond his rock image remains to be seen.

Ronnie Wood's Faces, Time and Places runs from 7-12 November at 28 Cork Street, London W1.